As the Dusk Emerges
by Nightshade of Readerle
Summary: One year after the winter war and already everything is back to normal. That is until a restless Karin Kurosaki recklessly heads off to fight hollows! What is this strange power? What are the shinigami hiding? And who exactly is this Toushiro? hitsukarin
1. Tantou Blues

**Hey….um first Bleach fic. I'm not that good at updating but I'll try my best…if I'm inspired I tend to get it out faster and right now I'm really into to bleach. Um I don't really watch the anime so I'm not going to use the soccer scene….I know, I really like that episode too. And forgive me for OOC-ness I'm trying to work on that. Oh and I do not own any of the characters or places of Bleach. Ok so here it is. **

**OOOOOO**

Twelve-year-old Kurosaki Karin was cramped into the miniscule space that her window sill provided, looking out onto the changing colors of the Karakura dusk. Today was a long day for Karin. Soccer practice went on for hours despite the sweltering heat and humidity that stuck to the players' skin. Not to mention that after her exhausting trek back home, she ended up being five and a half minutes late for dinner and was greeted by a sobbing Isshin declaring that his daughters were off hanging out with boys and staying out all night. Eventually he was kicked in the head by a disgruntled Ichigo, but don't be fooled to thinking that that helped her situation any. Instead she was on the receiving end of Ichigo's interrogation of why was she five and half minutes late and what she was doing in those five in a half minutes. By this time Karin was tired-- tired, sore and frustrated.

"oh, just making out with Kyou, or was it Takeshi...?" She mused out loud, walking past her gaping tomato-faced brother, grabbing a bowl of rice and veggies from Yuzu, and heading up the stairs to her room. Followed closely by a sputtering Ichigo and crying Isshin…both stopped by the shutting and locking of her bedroom door.

"_Making out…Please! Yuzu's the one with tons of admirers and they ask me if I was out dating boys…."_

Looking back on the situation, Karin admitted to herself that the situation could have been handled better, but she hated the way they were acting. Like nothing was wrong or different. Watching as the pinks and yellows of the sky were steadily overwhelmed by the purples and blues, Karin thought about the past year. "_Was it only a year ago that Ichi-nii jumped out of his bedroom window, avoiding my question? A year ago since the abnormal reiatsu permeated the air of Karakura tow? A little less than a year since Rukia left, taking Yuzu's and Isshin's memories of her with her?" _None-the-less when Ichigo came back everything went back to the way it was before all that and it was way too…normal. Karin hadn't seen a hollow in months, not even the minor kind. She may only be twelve, but god damnit she was smart enough to know the difference between normal and suspicious. And the kind of normal that was going on was definitely suspicious.

Suddenly as if to answer her disgruntled musings a strange energy pulsed through the air. It was a hollow…a minor one. Jumping to the tree branch bellow her window, Karin shimmied down the trunk until she was on the ground and commenced running in the direction of the energy. All previous pain forgotten Karin grinned when she skidded to a stop in front of the bird-like hollow tormenting a minor soul in the playground. She readied herself to kick her soccer ball at it when she realized that in her haste to actually _do_ something, she had forgotten it. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" She screamed as she ran around grabbing rocks and pebbles and pelting them with as much energy she could force into her arms. The hollow roared its annoyance at the dents created by the small rocks and turned from its prey to the much more delicious prospect of a Kurosaki dinner. Running after the young girl the hollow gained the advantage when she tripped over the curb and skidded across the street.

Mentally Karin was cursing herself for getting into this situation, if only she had thought about what she would do once she got here instead of the chance at a fight! But as the bird hollow opened its jaws to engulf her petite form a gigantic roar was heard from the rooftops above. The hollow looked up at the disturbance, giving Karin the chance to slide out from its claws and look at the new arrival. Standing on the roof was another hollow. But it and the bird-like weakling that almost demolished her were like night and day. Hating to admit it but doing so none the less Karin gasped at the incredible beauty of the hollow. Long and lean a white and black panther stood. The tip off its tail was a deep navy blue that also presented itself at the tips of its paws and under the base of its jaw. The clear black eyes of the big cat hid the creatures intentions but the elongated fangs poised to tear into the flesh of the hollow bellow it gave enough away to know that this kitty had claws and was dangerous. Karin was shaking at the mere presence of the spiritual energy on the beast; desperately wishing he brother was nearby. In less than a blink of an eye the cat tore through the bird-like hollow. Feasting on its fallen brethren, sticky dark liquid dripping from its fangs the panther hollow turned its frightening black eyes at her. In vain she backed away, bumping into the lamppost behind her. The hollow advanced upon the Kurosaki girl when a bright blast of energy hit it from the side. Karin ducked with her hands covering her head as the impact resonated between her and her predator.

Ichigo stood panting as he recovered from his frantic run to get to where Karin's reiatsu resonated with a far more dangerous one. He moved over to where she was curled up and swept a quick eye over her, making sure that she was uninjured. All he saw were minor scrapes and bruises. Ichigo's relief was only marked by a slight grunt as he turned to where Karin's uninjured opponent stood annoyed and poised for battle. The hollow pounced and leapt onto him. Unconsciously sending a blast of energy with a slash of his sword Ichigo watched in horror as the hollow collapsed onto the frightened Karin. The hollow recoverd quicker than the girl could and grasped Karin within its jaws. For the first time in a long time Ichigo hesitated at the prospect of hurting Karin in order to save her. His moments of hesitation were all it took for the hollow to tighten its jaws, puncture her skin, and leap into the sky running off with the girl, Ichigo in hot pursuit.

Meanwhile, the weakening Karin slipped into unconsciousness. _The darkness was everywhere…rushing past…overwhelming…consuming…"please..please"…it was so cold, like the darkest depths of the ocean. A roar was heard. "Who's that..please…I don't understand." The girl was frantic fighting against the heavy pull of the darkness. There it was the roar again. "How can I understand??I want to understand!" __Karin closed her eyes tightly, ignoring the fact that closed or open there was no difference. She desperately needed to get out of here and it seemed that that voice was the only clue as to how to actually leave. So she relaxed and just listened…."Karin…Karin..can you hear me Karin..Please listen….Please it's so dark here…I miss the dusk the beautiful dusk" Karin gasped "Yes!" She exclaimed to the masculine voice calling her "I can hear you" "Karin, Karin concentrate on my energy find me" Karin dragged herself through the heavy, thick darkeness until she found herself at the feet of two glowing navy eyes. "Karin the hollow…out there ..its our opposite Karin…us but not us…strong but impure…its absorbing our power…karin we must act…you must act" "What do I do? I don't understand" "Karin do you want to see the dusk again?" "Yes!" she desperately cried to the disembodied voice "Then call my name Karin…call my name" "….M..MIZUTORA!" _

Inchigo froze as his sister's cry filled the night air. Looking at the hollow in front of him, he saw bright blue beams of reiatsu rip violently into the air. A resounding roar was heard. And Ichigo watched as the reiatsu began to absorb the hollow in front of him. The blue rays swirled into and orb and then were violently released into the Karakura night sky. Running Ichigo came to the place when the creature and his sister previously stood. There collapsed onto the ground was a solid back panther. Ichigo watched as the panther morphed into a bleeding, unconscious Karin. "What the hell?" he murmured as he gently picked her up and proceeded to flashed-stepped his way home.

What Ichigo didn't notice was that clutched tightly in her small hands was a tantou sized zanpakutou.

**OOOOOO**

**Ok so that's the first chapter/prologue thingy. Um I know it's a little confusing but I'll start to explain things in the next chapter. But if you're really confused-what are some of yoruichi's abilities. Don't fear I'm not gonna make Karin into another yoruichi, just different from ichigo! Um so when should Toushiro be introduced? R&R please Ciao! **


	2. Black Printed Silk

**Hey… Thanks to those that reviewed. I tried to explain some things about what happened last chapter here. I do not own the people or places of Bleach. So here is chapter two- Black Printed Silk. **

"_**Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you." Oscar Wilde, Irish poet novelist, dramatist and critic. 1854-1900.**_

**OOOOOOO**

_Rush…Splash…_

_Splash…_

_Rush…rush…_

_A thickness weighed down the feet of a young girl as she walked through the obscure terrain…_

_Splash…Rush…_

_Something about the place was familiar, like a reoccurring dream…the dark that surrounded her was so welcoming…so incredibly connected to her…b..but something was off…she felt like she needed to know something….something important…quite possible the thing that connected her to this unknown place….instead all she heard was a roar…."roar"….she concentrated harder "roa-rin"…."rorin"…."rarin"…"Karin…" "Karin, can you hear me? Karin you need to remember….my name ….Karin my na-oar..roar" _

_A name? But why a name?_

"KARIN!!" Kurosaki Karin opened her eyes startled at the scream that broke through her blurred dreamscape. Illuminated by the morning light, Yuzu was standing at the door that led into the clinic's in-patient bedroom. Her typical just-woken up look was overshadowed by the tears pooling around the edges of her eyes, her shaking shoulders and her tiny trembling hands that were covering her gaping mouth. The same mouth that just screamed her twin's name at the sight of the bed ridden Karin 

covered in bloodied bandages. Karin grimaced at the thought of causing Yuzu emotional distress, especially since she was just starting to get over Ichigo disappearing a year ago.

"Yuzu..," she croaked out, "Please don't look at me like that. I'm fine see." Karin smiled and stretched, ignoring the biting pain, in order to prove her statement and watched as Yuzu's eyes began to reclaim some of their spark. "REALLY KARIN!" Yuzu rushed to her side.

"I'm so happy…Daddy and Ichi-nii only told me this morning that you got hit by a car last night!" She sniffed. "They didn't wake me up last night so I was so worried. I thought it was because you were in a horrible state." Tears, but this time of happiness rushed to Yuzu's eyes. "I'm so happy you're alright Karin."

"Of course, I am!!" Karin grunted out. "I share the same blood as those two idiots don't I? So you see I could get mauled by a two ton monster and still be up for a soccer match! By the way did they call about a game this weekend?" Karin watched as Yuzu began to giggle at her sibling predictable answer, unaware of just how true Karin's second to last statement was.

"MY DAUGHTER HAS AWAKENED!!" screamed an excited Isshin bounding in the room, only to get punched in the face by Ichigo who was standing at the door impatiently waiting for his own chance to walk in. "Karin is recovering goat-face." Was Ichigo's surly explanation for his actions. Ichigo looked on at Karin, Yuzu and his father talking about when she can start school and began to wonder about what exactly happened last night. He felt as if he missed something. _What exactly happened after Karin's reiatsu reacted? Was there something about her, stance, form,…hmmmhmm maybe there was something in her hands? _He watched as Karin argued that she was fine and could return to school on Monday. Her nose was scrunched up, her eyes were bright with energetic anger, and her hair was a curtain of black falling around her face. A curtain of black? Ichigo's eyes widen as he remembered the image of the panther- a panther with fur that was dark with a blue sheen on it…like black printed silk.

_What does that mean? I must ask Urahara. _Sparing a glance back to his family, Ichigo left his house in the direction of Urahara's Shop.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Meanwhile Last night in Soul Society …

Soi Fon was walking down the hall in the chambers where the Human World Soul Monitors were kept. Her goal was to retreat into the secret room where her screen that was trained on Urahara's shop was. She knew she should be watching the encroaching development down in the Human World (those were her orders); _but maybe tonight she could get a glimpse of Yoruichi_? Suddenly she caught a glimpse of the wider screens that displayed the entirety of Karakura.

"What is going on here?! I demand an explanation, you in front of screen report!"

"Taicho," he wheezed "There was a hollow. A..and then there were two and the shinigamisubstiute….suddenly boom bam….and oour screens went blue and this happened and now there's two shinigami!!" his voice squeaked out in a steadily increasing pitch. Soi Fon listened as her panicked squad explained to her just how and when the machinery started to depict large quantities of new soul reaper type energy down in Karakura. _Only the substitute shinigami is in Karakura right now. So where is this raw energy coming from? _

"You with the idiotic face. Go tell Yamamato Taicho about this and report back with his orders." Soi Fon barked as she anticipated the upcoming events. What a pity it seemed she couldn't watch Yoruichi tonight.

Waking up with the rising sun, Hitsugaya Toushiro was completely unaware of the events that took place not five hours ago. It was his ignorance that made him look forward to this morning's captain meeting. _Maybe today we could do something productive…._ He mused as he quickly dressed and walked into his office –only to find his vice-captain and the vice-captain of the third squad passed out on his floor. "MATSUMOTO!" She hurridly got up and exclaimed in surprise as her breasts made violent protest of being constricted. "Taicho! They were going to fall out again!" "Keep them in!" He grunted stepping on Kira in order to get to his desk.

"I would prefer if you didn't …" Toushiro was interrupted as a hell butterfly flew in and perched on his shoulder. "Captains meeting moved to 8:00 a.m. Urgent matter at hand!" was its message. Toushiro sighed at the fact that now he couldn't fully reprimand Matsumoto for her drunken escapade, stepped over Kira again on his way to the door and mumbled a frustrated "Later" to Matsumoto as he briskly left to the meeting room.

When Hitsugaya walked into the meeting room he did not expect to be the last one to arrive, nor did he expect everyone in the room to turn and look at him at the same time. His cold expression merely twitched at the sudden attention and Toushiro arched one elegantly shaped eyebrow in response to the leers of some off the less stoic captains.

"Hitsugaya Taicho. It seems that you have arrived at a most appropriate time." Toushiro didn't bother to respond, he just knew that Yamamato would proceed. "There has been a disturbance in the Human World. A new energy has surfaced that is similar to that of a Shinigami. Seeing that recently there have been kidna…no _disappearances_ of humans with high energy I have decided that something must be done about this situation. We don't want an untrained shinigami's powers to fall into the wrong hands." For some reason Toushiro began to dread the rest of Yamamato's statement. He had the sneaking suspicion that it somehow involved him. "The energy came from Karakura, more specifically from someone associated with the current substitute shinigami." _Of course, is anyone close to that idiot spared? _"Since last time you're team went, it has been decided that you would be the very best person to go and acquire this individual. Is that satisfactory?" Toushiro nodded and turned to get ready for another trip to the human world.

"Oh, and one more thing. We believe that the energy comes from his younger sister. So you must be cautious. Soi Fon recommends infiltrating the elementary school in order to gain her trust." Hitsugaya froze, the temperature of the room dropped several degrees as he turned his icy glare to the captain of the second. "Of course, you see now why you're the best choice right? The paperwork will be completed upon your arrival to the Human World. Matsumoto fuku-taicho and Abrai fuku-taicho are listed as your guardians for the school's purposes. Both are being informed as of this moment of their duties. Hitsugaya Taicho, try and accomplish the task as quickly as possible. You are dismissed."

Toushiro spoke to no one as he stormed towards his office. When he opened the door the first thing he said were identical to the syllables he had pronounced not more than forty minutes ago. "MATSUMOTO!" She hugged and gushed over him, claiming that she will try her hardest to be an excellent mother and jokingly wondering if she would need to breastfeed her children. He yelled at her to get packing and warily watched as she flounced off to her chambers. Taking the silence to regain his composure, Toushiro decided that the best thing to do was to just get this over with. So grudgingly, he packed his things and met up two hours later with Matsumoto and Abrai. The three of them agreed upon their destinations coordinates and began to walk up to where the gates were located.

When they landed in front of a shanty little candy shop that specialized in more than just your typical Karakura goods, they did not see their target's older brother just leave the same location that they were 

heading towards. All were far too preoccupied, in fact only Matsumoto seemed somewhat pleased that they were making a visit to this particular candy shop. Renji was thinking of the gleeful torture the shop's residents enjoyed to inflict and shuddered. Toushiro thought of his first day of school tomorrow and braced himself for the subtle mocking that the shop owner would engage in. Both soul reapers grudgingly stepped through the door with Matsumoto, despite their trepidation. After all, they had fought many more horrors than that which lay inside Urahara's shop and besides in order for the mission to work- they desperately needed some gigais.

Urahara smiled under the shadow of his green striped hat. One fascinating visitor leaves and three more show up? How intriguing.

**OOOOOOOOOO**

**Woah. That's way more than I normally write hehe. Ok so explanations are kinda lacking for Karin's part but I did decide to introduce Toushiro earlier than I planned. I hope the reason makes sense. Um please forgive any spelling error as of now this has not been read by a beta reader. So review and thanks for reading. -ciao**


	3. Indigo Smiles

**Correction from chapter 2, Karin's 12 so like I know I wrote Elementary school, so let this school be up to ninth grade ok? (sorry about that) Ok so this update is a little later than I planned, I totally fail at updating . School is getting kinda crazy. I know you guys will probably guess it but some parts here were inspired by everyone's favorite soccer episode. lol I do not own the characters and places of Bleach. **

**Chapter Three: Indigo Smiles**

"_**Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you." Oscar Wilde, Irish poet novelist, dramatist and critic. 1854-1900.**_

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Karin had slowly made her way to her room by the time she heard the loud noises of Ichigo's return. Wincing at the loud screams that her father and Ichigo made as they started their frequent "late for dinner" brawl, Karin sighed softly and eased her way into the desk near her bed. She yawned tiredly and thought about going to sleep. Karin glanced at the time. 6:00 p.m. This was ridiculous!! How on earth could she be so tired?! Well, sure she did just get injured, but seriously she was made of tougher stuff than this. _It doesn't matter I'm going to school tomorrow, weak or not-the team needs me. _Karin furiously thought. Shaking her head she tossed her soccer ball off her bed and slid herself under the covers. Ridiculously early or not, sleep was calling and she'd rather not be tired the next morning.

Despite being tired Karin was a fussy sleeper. Shifting in order to get comfortable, Karin glanced and her nightstand and gasped. With wide eyes she reached out to the black tantou sheath with dark blue swirls and markings. Her fingers barely grazed the lacquered material when the blade disappeared at her touch. Karin bolted up in shock; looking at the nightstand she saw that it was now 8:00. _What?! Was I sleeping already? Did I imagine that? Huh…I must have…_ Sighing in disappointment, Karin grumpily turned to face her window…despite everything that happened it look like she was just imagining things- she was still useless.

**7:00 a.m. Monday Morning**

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP! BBBBBBBBBBEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPP! BEEEEEP! A small pale hand slowly suspended itself in the air, grabbed the offending alarm clock, and commenced to hurl it at the wall. BANG!

"GOOOD MOOORNIIIING Karin!" A high pitched voice interrupted the haze that clouded Karin's groggy mind. "Time to go to school!! Oh dear, is that your alarm clock"

Karin opened one eye to see Yuzu holding a black box that had wires hanging down the front with some sort of screen barely attached to them. "Wouldn't this be the third one this month Karin!!"

She smirked and grunted out a "Unn," before swinging her legs over the side of her bed and trudging her way to the bathroom.

"Breakfast will be ready in a couple of minutes so don't take too long." Yuzu sang out as she went back down the stairs to the kitchen. Karin shut the bathroom door and felt that she needed a nice cold shower to get her fully awake and pumped up for soccer practice today. Getting into the shower she hissed when the cold water hit her sensitive wound. Yeah, that was going to complicate things wasn't it?

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Toushiro's morning was punctuated by a loud squeal and two monsters specialized in the art of suffocation. "MATSUMOTO!!!!!!!!!!" Like usual the first words he uttered this morning was the accursed name of his fukutaicho. "AAAAH Taicho, why so cold? I just wanted to give you a morning greeting!"

"More like trying to kill him," Renji muttered between poorly muffled guffaws as he passed the open door to Toushiro's room.

Toushiro's right eye twitched. "Renji! See what you did you made Taicho mad."

"How can you tell when the only thing that pokes out from those mountains is his white hair?"

Realizing how tight her grip was getting and how purple her Taicho was starting to turn, Matsumoto quickly let go and exclaimed, "Today we have to register you in school Taicho. So we can't be late no matter what!!" While flouncing out of the room.

Toushiro forced himself to calm down. It would not due to start the day yelling at Matsumoto and Abrai when in thirty minutes they would have to power to utterly embarrass him. Just thinking of the situation made him twitch and grimace. Shaking his head he proceeded to get dressed. It seemed as if it was time to go to school.

**8:00 a.m. Class 2A**

Toushiro walked into the classroom that would be the arena for probably the most headache inducing mission he was ever given. Silence washed over the chattering 12 year olds and a collective gasp spread over the female members of his class. Toushiro rolled his eyes in disdain. Teenage humans were one thing, but _preteens?_ Did Yamamoto seriously think that he was on the same mental capacity as antsy children on the cusp of puberty?! Oh sure he was shorter than half the guys here but that meant NOTHING, NOTHING!

"_Toushiro…"_ Hitsugaya winced at the voice of Hyourinmaru pervading his thoughts. Ok so maybe he had the occasional bout of immaturity, but he thought glaring at his open mouthed gaping classmates, it was nothing compared to how these children were going to be. _"Just think little dragon, it's like you're doing a mission with 25 Renji Abrai's."Hyourinmaru softly chuckled. _Toushiro could feel a vein popping in his forehead as he glanced at the teacher waiting for her instructions- that was not a pleasant thought.

"AAh Hitsugaya-kun! Welcome to class 2A, why don't you introduce yourself?"

"I am Hitsugaya." _What else is customary for humans to say on the first meeting….?_ "Oh, and please take care of me." That said Toushiro arched an eyebrow and waited for the teacher to give him further instructions.

"O-Oh, well then take the free seat next to Kurosaki-chan." The teacher pointed to two empty desks. "huh? Kurosaki-chan? Oh no it appears like she's not here. Does anyone know where Yuzu-chan is?"

"No Sensei! And Karin-san's not here either!"

_Yuzu and Karin Kurosaki? _But Toushiro's thoughts were interrupted as the door was gently opened to reveal an out of breath strawberry blonde. "Sorry Sensei! Karin and I had to explain to the nurse how Karin got injured this weekend. And then they made her fill out paperwork, and well you know how Karin is. She angered the nurse and now she has to stay filing in the front office until lunch time."

"Oh dear, not again! Well, then this is our new student Toushiro Hitsugaya-kun, he's going to be sitting next to you Yuzu-chan. So why don't you show him where you sit and get to know each other, ok? OK, that was quite a lot of excitement for today, LET"S BEGIN CLASS!"

"Hi! I'm Yuzu. These are our desks. It's a pleasure to meet you Toushiro-kun."

"It's Hitsugaya." Toshiro responded and turned away from her to look at the board. Apparently, the girl was Yuzu Kurosaki, which meant the one that got detained in the office must be the Karin he was looking for. Toushiro grimaced, _please don't be like your brother._

**12:00 p.m. Lunch Time in the School Courtyard**

When the class was dismissed for lunch Toushiro made sure that he was far away from the rest of his classmates. It had been the most trying four hours of his life. Girls passed him notes. Boys glared at him and not a single sign of the Kurosaki he was looking for! Huffing in complete and utter irritation, he chose not to partake in the ritual these humans called "lunch time" and climbed a tree next to a large grass field and in order to observe his classmates as they scrambled around in the courtyard.

Unexpectedly a rag tag group of about four of his classmates, "_The more idiotic looking of the bunch, if I should say so myself," _gave a loud cheer and ran up to the sidewalk leading from the far side of the building where his classes were located. Toushiro scrutinized what seemed to be the cause of the change in emotion from the boys and noticed a girl around their age walking down to meet them. She was thin and tall, with longs legs. The dark black hair that was slightly longer in the front and shorter in the back, framed her round face and moved as she seemingly chewed out the less than brilliant looking boys and directed them in the direction of the large field. Nevertheless, the cut of her hair wasn't so styled as to be considered feminine. In fact, if it were not for the small swell that her oversized shirt did not manage to cover or the subtle dip of her waist, he would have been convinced that this creature was actually a boy.

"In some places, staring that intently at someone can be considered strange. Doing it while in a tree…? Well that's just plain stalking." Whispered a voice from above him. Toushiro's brain was just about done processing that the voice sounded identical to Abrai's when…

" Taicho!!!" Matsumoto sobbed out from next to him on the branch, all the while grabbing him and holding on with every asset her body provided. "NNNOOO my son is a stallkeeer! I should never have let him spend all that time with Soi Fon!"

"Matsumoto! Cease from strangling me and speaking nonsense this instant. It is not like that. I was merely obtaining data."

Matsumoto responded to the reprimand by grabbing her grumpy twitchy Taicho's shoulders and shaking him frantically, "But, you were looking at girls! You're too young! Too innocent!

"MATSUMOTO!!!!" Toushiro yelled. She responded by laughingly letting go and flash stepping to the branch Abrai is on. Toushiro irritatingly huffed and looked back at the girl. Her friends were clambered around a soccer ball and kicking it back and forth. She on the other hand was looking directly at the tree that Toushiro and his team were sitting in. He met her wide eyes straight on and furrowed his brow in annoyance. "That girl's probably the Kurosaki we're looking for and you two may have just blown the "me enrolling in school to gain her trust in the first place" part of the mission."

To his annoyance "Oi, that's no reason to speak to your mother the way you did." was the response. Toushiro glanced out of the corner of his eye. "h-hey!" Abrai continued to exclaim as ice quickly trapped his hands and feet to the tree he was standing on.

Smirking Toushio went to look back at the girl he suspected was his mission target when he heard "Hey KUROSAKI. HEADS UP!"

Karin, who was staring at the mysterious people in the tree near the field, totally forgot that her friends were warming up for a game of soccer. At the sound of the call she quickly turned around to face the ball. Her sudden movement creased the area of her injury and caused slight spasms of pain, which she was not braced for, to shoot through her nerves. Wincing, Karin accidentally kicked the ball straight into the direction of the tree. Luckily for Toushiro, he was staring so intently. He noticed her surprise at receiving the ball, he also noticed her wince and misfired kicked. Dropping out of the tree Toushiro drew in his right leg, tilted his body back and forcefully kicked the ball while flipping in midair. Karin ducked as the ball flew past her and into the goal on the other side of the field.

Karin was impressed and as for her friends, well, her friends could only stare in amazement. "Hey, White-haired Kid! Do you want to play with us?" Karin called out. Toushiro responded with a silent shake of the head. Karin was annoyed. This kid was obviously watching them! And now he doesn't want to play?!

"C'mon you look like you can play really well. And what else can you possibly have to do on break?" She responded.

"Karin!!" Her friends said, "He's the new kid, don't ask him."

"Why not?"

"He looks weird…and angry."

Toushiro tried his best to ignore them and turn away. So when Karin faced him again he was already walking towards the building.

"Well, alright it's your loss!" She called out while angrily mumbling under her breath as she turned around to rejoin the guys.

Toushiro observed the girl further as another group of kids came to the field (from a new more discreet location). Together both groups started an actual game of soccer. It appeared that Kurosaki was in pain for some reason, but continued to play anyways. Toushiro internally snorted as he noticed that even though the other team seemed to take full advantage of the girl's weaker state, her friends were totally ignorant of her predicament. He was right, his male classmates appeared to be complete idiots. Suddenly, a member from the other team kicked the ball straight into Karin's side. He watched as she doubled over in pain.

Observation would have to wait. It seemed as if he was going to get further involved with the Kurosaki than he would like to on the first meeting.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO **

**I totally know that I gave Toushiro stalker tendicies. But it makes sense to me. His sword is a Dragon. I feel that the swords have to be compatible with their wielders personality. Dragons hoard things. So Toushiro obsesses over missions and work and stuff, since his division is like a part of his hoard. It'll come into play later, I just didn't want people to think that I made toushiro kinda weird for no reason lol. **

**OMG! I'm so sorry that this is really late. Well be happy to know I cut it off here in order to post. Lol its almost double than what I usually post, but please don't get used to long post like these. It's just that the meeting is sooo important and they are going to have true interaction in the next chapter, obviously. Yeah and this is unbeta-d so please excuse spelling and grammatical errors until I can check it over. **


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